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Tag: Wanted

  • Wanted: Regular psychiatric tests for policemen

    Wanted: Regular psychiatric tests for policemen

    Last Saturday’s shooting of twin brothers and their friend by a drunken policeman, Stephen James, in Lagos came on the heels of a policeman allegedly killing a man at a wedding in Anambra State. Several other fatal shots have been fired by this year. Experts proffer solutions, including improving working conditions and periodic mental health checks for officers and men. JOSEPH JIBUEZE writes

    The shooting spree is a source of headache to the police hierarchy. It is a riddle they are searching for an answer to. But they need not look further. Experts have the solutions, if only the authorities will act.

    Some of the solutions proferred are: regular emotional stability check-up for policemen, re-building of professional value system and periodic psychiatric evaluation.

    Really, the concern over the rate at which policemen kill civilians is not misplaced. Those at the receiving end can tell the tales better.

    Only last Saturday, a mother lost her children, the two she ever had,  twins in their early 30s, Taiwo and Kehinde Oyesunle – no thanks to a “trigger-happy” police officer, Stephen James. He shot them and their friend, Jeje, who was marking his birthday at a hotel on Anibaba Street, Ketu, Lagos, at about 4:20pm.

    Reports said the police sergeant, with force number 217884, became unruly and threatened customers with a gun after demanding that they buy him more booze. The three men were said to have condemned his behaviour, which apparently provoked the officer. As the three came out of the hotel, James opened fire. After shooting them, he shot  himself dead.

    Police Public Relations Officer Mr. Joe Offor said the policeman was on duty at the hotel and was attached to Mopol 22, Ikeja, Lagos. “He was drunk while on duty and he acted under the influence of alcohol,” he said. James was “dismissed” posthumously from the police.

    A day later, another tragic incident occurred in Uruagu, Nnewi in Anambra State. On December 27, a drunken policeman allegedly shot at guests attending a traditional marriage ceremony. Reports said the bride and groom were dancing when gunshots rang out at about 6.30pm. The joyous occasion ended abruptly after it was confirmed that a Nollywood actor was fatally hit by a bullet. Another was injured. The state police spokesman, Okechukwu Ali, confirmed the incident. He said only one person died.

     

    Officers on the rampage

     

    This year alone, ‘trigger-happy’ officers have killed tens of unarmed citizens. On September 17, a police corporal attached to the Isheri-Oshun Police Station, Augustine Telenumdu, shot at a tricyclist and his wife Comfort. The Keke Marwa operator, Godwin Ekpo, was returning from church with his wife and four children when Corporal Musefun Aremu stopped them.

    Aremu allegedly demanded N200 from Ekpo. But Ekpo was said to have explained that he was returning from church and that the time was just 8pm. As he attempted to ride away, Aremu shot at them with an AK 47 riffle. The bullet pierced through Comfort’s skull, killing her.

    Aremu (28) has been arraigned. He claimed he never meant to kill the woman, denying that he also tried to extort money from Ekpo.

    “All I did was to aim at the tyres.  Unfortunately, the bullet hit the woman from behind and also hit the man in the jaw,” he said.

     

    Shot for arguing with officer

     

    In May, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, identified as Mohammed, allegedly shot dead a tricycle operator, Akeem Aranse (31), during an argument at Akowonjo on the outskirt of Lagos. Aranse mistakenly hit a commercial motorcycle conveying Mohammed at Karimu Laka Street in Egbeda. An argument ensued. The officer was said to have brought out his pistol and shot Aranse in the chest, killing him instantly.

     

    Threat to other officers

     

    ‘Trigger-happy’ policemen are also a threat to their colleagues. On September 25, a Constable, Ibrahim Musa, of the Nangere Police Division reportedly shot dead two of his superior officers following a quarrel at Tarajim Village in Yobe State. Musa was said to have angrily opened fire and shot Inspectors Mohammed Musa and Ishaku Elam with an AK47 rifle. After shooting his colleagues, he also shot himself. He was later confirmed dead at the Potiskum General Hospital.

    Shot for ‘love’

     

    On April 30, a jealous policeman took his own life after killing his lover and a colleague for allegedly cheating with her. The woman was said to be double-dating the two married policemen. The incident occurred at Karu, a satellite town in Abuja. The killer-cop, a sergeant, was said to be the lady’s primary lover. However, his colleague, on the same police patrol team, also started dating her. As they were arguing, the jealous sergeant reportedly shot the woman twice in the chest, then shot his colleague, killing him. After ensuring that the two were dead, the sergeant killed himself.

     

    Murdered in cold blood?

     

    On May 19, four police corporals, Adeleke Adedeji, Abena John, Henry Shobowale and Oniyo Musa, who were reportedly investigating a case of armed robbery that occurred in Agege, Lagos, went to Edo State as part of the enquiry.  They were on the trail of those who robbed Alhaji Babangida Isa of his Toyota car and other valuables.

    In Edo, they narrowed their trail to Benson Obode, who was found at the Aduwawa in Benin, the state capital. While trying to arrest Obode, who was accused of receiving the stolen car, he was shot and killed. Following a protest by his family and members of his community who accused the officers of cold-blooded murder, a petition was sent to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), who ordered an investigation, which led to the officers’ arrest.

     

    ‘Police killed our son’

     

    On September 10, policemen from the Ehimiri Police Station in Umuahia, Abia State, allegedly killed Ikechukwu Uwagbaokwu (21), an Imo State Polytechnic student. His family alleged that the Marketing undergraduate went to bed at about 9:00pm. At about 10:50pm there was persistent banging on the door. Ten fierce-looking, uniformed policemen, who came in a Hilux pick-up van and black Camry Saloon car, shot Uwagbaokwu on sighting him. He died on the spot.

    The deceased’s father, Emmanuel (54), said: “Those who killed my son were policemen from Ehimiri Police Station, Umuahia. I am not guessing. I reported the matter and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) denied sending his men to that area that night. He, however, ordered some policemen to follow us to the scene of the incident. On the way, the team dodged us and never got to our house”. The state command denied the killing and the family has urged the IGP to investigate the case and bring the culprits to book.

     

    Shot over N100 bribe

    On August 7, a commercial bus driver in Port Harcourt, David Legbara, was shot and killed for allegedly refusing to part with N100 bribe demanded by a policeman said to be attached to Kala Station. The deceased’s wife was delivered of a baby boy two months after the murder. The baby, named ThankGod David Legbara, will grow up without a father, no thanks to a ‘trigger-happy’ policeman.

     

    Gun-butted

     

    On September 1, seven police officers in Ondo State allegedly killed Aderonke Eze, a widow who owned a beer parlor close to her residence in Akure, the state capital. She was allegedly hit repeatedly with a gun butt by police officers from the Ala unit of the Oda Divisional Police Station. After her death, the policemen allegedly dumped her remains at the Akure General Hospital morgue.

     

    Cover-ups

     

    The police have been accused of covering up monumental crimes by its officers. Some officers have gunned down innocent citizens and fled the scene. For instance, sometime in 2006, a woman Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Onitsha, Anambra State, tried to compound felony by covering up a police corporal, Daniel Ayuba who shot dead a lady, Nkechi Obidigwe at a police checkpoint at Zik’s Avenue, Fegge. The DPO had denied that her men were responsible and claimed that it was members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) who shot the girl.

    It took an impartial investigation to indentify the killer corporal, who confessed to the crime during an orderly room trial. Three officers at the checkpoint were fished out, arrested and detained. An autopsy revealed that a police bullet from an AK47 killed the victim.

    A similar fate befell Ugochukwu Ozuah (36), an engineer, on September 20, 2012. He was allegedly shot and killed by a policeman five days after his wedding. The incident occurred on Gbagada Expressway, Lagos as the victim went to drop off a classmate. His killers are yet to be brought to book despite promises by the police hierarchy that they would be fished out and prosecuted.

     

    Psychiatric tests for the police?

     

    There have been calls for policemen to be subjected to periodic psychiatric tests to determine their mental state, especially those of them who bear firearms.

    A foremost mental health practitioner and former Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Femi Olugbile, believes the killing of three men in Ketu by a policeman was “a display of the tragic consequences that can arise when no effort is made to ensure the mental health and emotional stability of ‘law enforcement agencies’ – specifically people who carry arms ostensibly for the protection of the public.”

    According to him, the best measures to prevent such incidences include yearly mental health checks for officers who bear arms, and improving their working conditions.

    “The Police hierarchy must undergo a programme of mental health training in order to develop an enlightened attitude to mental health issues, and enable them to create a climate conducive to the mental health of people within the force (I am aware such a programme is currently receiving consideration from the IGP).

    “Anyone observed by peers or reported by the public to be displaying erratic behaviour or to be indulging in drug and/or alcohol abuse should be compulsorily subjected to a medical test, which should include mental state examination. Treatment for mental health problems should be available as a free service to all servicing personnel within the police medical services.

    “Personnel who have substance abuse problems or any other mental health issues should be able by themselves to report to the Police Health Services for assistance without any fear that this will negatively affect their careers. These steps will represent the commencement of a civilised approach to the problem,” Dr Olugbile said.

    A Consultant Psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-Pychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, said anybody could become mentally ill at any point.

    Owoeye said: “Studies have not shown that more policemen abuse drugs than soldiers or civilians. Because there is no research to that effect, no one can make a categorical statement that police officers need regular psychiatric tests because they are more prone to abnormal behaviour.

    “Subjecting all officers to psychiatric test will stigmatise the profession. But studies have shown that out of 100 people, close to 20 have one mental illness or the other, but we don’t know whether the level is higher within the police.”

     

    Why abuses persist

     

    The Amnesty International, in a report entitled: Nigeria Police kill at will, documents cases of torture and shooting of suspects in custody, allegedly by the police. The group said the police were notorious for not only shooting suspects, but torturing them to death.

    “The Nigeria Police is responsible for hundreds of unlawful killings every year. Police don’t only kill people by shooting them; they also torture them to death, often while they are in detention. The majority of the cases go uninvestigated and the police officers responsible go unpunished,” AI said.

    The group said promptly investigating such cases, not covering anyone up, and ensuring justice for victims, will help rid the police of killer-cops.

    National Coordinator, Network of Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), Okechukwu Nwanguma, blamed police leadership for not being good example to the rank and file.

    “Police abuse and corruption are often ordered from the top or condoned by higher authorities. This makes it difficult to achieve change at the lower levels. Naturally, police resist change and anybody pushing for change is perceived as an adversary and often exposed to risk or targeted for retaliation,” he said.

     

    Whither the PSC?

     

    The Police Service Commission (PSC) is the oversight body responsible for appointment, promotion, and discipline of all police officers, except the IGP. The police have experienced endemic problems with recruiting, training, inefficiency, and indiscipline, and their lack of expertise in specialised fields is well documented. Corruption and dishonesty remain widespread, engendering a low level of public confidence, failure to report crimes, and tendencies to resort to self-help.

     

    More reforms needed

     

    Analysts say reform is needed to change the perception of the police as one of the most corrupt and dysfunctional public institutions in Nigeria. Citizens no longer feel safe around the police.  Many innocent citizens have died in the hands of the police and in such cases,  justice is not served. The right to life and dignity of human person is an inalienable fundamental human right, which observers say is the duty of the police to enforce and not to violate.

    The Ministry of Police Affairs had embarked on reforms through the implementation of a six-year Police Reform Programme (2010 – 2015) designed to transform the police into an efficient, people friendly service, with the overall aim of protecting lives and property. The programme included training and capacity building. From 2011 – 2013, the Ministry said it trained about 15,342 personnel in various professional and administrative courses, including counter-terrorism and advance intelligence training, amongst others.

    Recognising the need to sanction erring officers, IGP Solomon Arase unveiled the Complaint Response Unit (CRU) as a means of reporting such officers. People can lodge complaints through BBM, WhatsApp, facebook, e-mail, twitter, SMS and voice calls. For WhatsApp and SMS, complaints can be sent through 08057000001, 08057000002 and 08057000003. Complaints can also be lodged through facebook.com/npfcomplaint.

    Analysts say the police need adequate funding, which must be well managed if the hallmarks of modern policing are to be realised. Such hallmarks include the willingness of policemen to risk their lives in defence of citizens. But the reverse seems to be the case in Nigeria where policemen sometimes flee from robbers or arrive after the deed had been done to seize innocent persons. A counter-argument is that the police are not well equipped, therefore, most robbers have better and sophisticated weapons that the police cannot match with their obsolete AK47 rifles.

    Also, a modern police officer is regarded as spotless in character and is incorruptible. But in reality, there is a likelihood of being shot by a policeman for refusing to part with money than being protected, observers say. A truly professional police is expected to refuse to accept bribes to pervert the cause of justice in protection of criminals. But such an attribute is a scarce commodity as the police have been accused of acting in cahoots with criminals and sometimes supplying them with arms.

    “The Buhari administration has, as part of its anti-corruption campaign, a duty to rid the police of the irresponsible behavior of some of its men. As the principal law enforcement agency, it should be the first to obey the laws it is meant to enforce,” said a criminologist, Onyebuchi Nwaogo.

     

    Ridding the police of killer-cops

     

    Arase said it was likely that some officers who shoot unarmed citizens at the slightest provocation could be suffering from temporary insanity.  He said an officer who had been in the sun for over 12 hours could go temporarily crazy. He urged the public to show understanding and not argue with or provoke such officers. He vowed to ensure that erring officers are disciplined. But experts say more needs to be done beyond dismissing and prosecuting killer-cops.

    To rid the police of such excesses, Nwanguma, who has been at the vanguard of civil society movement for police reform, believes there must be no cover-up of crimes committed by officers. He said. “It appears that the culture of cover up of crimes and stalling of prosecution is entrenched more within the Nigeria police than in other uniformed services.”

    The PSC, he said, should also be prompt in punishing erring officers. He recalled that it took the PSC close to 15 months to discipline the DPO in charge of Pen Cinema, Agege, Olusegun Fabunmi, who allegedly shot Ademola Aderinto during the January 2012 fuel subsidy protests in Lagos.

    “Failure of the PSC to discharge its constitutional mandate of enforcing discipline and accountability within the police accounts for the impunity, which protects perpetrators,” he said.

    The NOPRIN chief said how decisive errant officers are dealt will help deter others. “Failure to bring perpetrators of abuse to account sustains the climate of impunity that encourages others to commit abuse.

    “There is the need to streamline the various internal disciplinary procedures in the Nigerian Police Force into a manageable framework that could easily be used by aggrieved citizens seeking redress for police misconduct, as well as using data emanating from such mechanisms in tracking police officials who are subjects of unusually high numbers of citizens’ complaints.

    “There is also the need to strengthen external oversight of the police. The PSC under the Constitution and the PSC Act of 2001 is an independent and impartial institution. A body, which is established with the constitutional mandate to recruit, promote and discipline all police personnel other than the IGP in an independent and impartial manner is expected to be composed and headed by non partisan individuals of unquestionable integrity.

    “What we need is a civilian-led PSC that has the courage to investigate all public complaints and cases of police abuse. Appointing a retired IGP undermines and subverts this mission and renders the PSC ultimately into another department of the NPF. This is not good for the Police; it is inconsistent with the structure and purpose of the Constitution and the PSC Act of 2001; and defeats the whole essence of the establishment of the PSC as a civilian oversight body on policing in Nigeria,” Nwanguma said.

    The President, Women Arise for Change, Dr. Joe Oke-Odumakin, said the police should subject its officers to periodic psychiatric tests, as extrajudicial killings are becoming common. Besides, she would like  the police to bear the cost of training children of those killed by the police.

    A former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), said the rank and file need re-orientation.

    “A lot of work needs to be done to make officers and men of the NPF appreciate their role as the people’s police and not a police force. The word ‘force’ is certainly a misnomer in the present democratic dispensation.

    “Periodic psychiatric test is only desirable for suspicious officers and men.  But how well placed is the institution itself to detect derelicts among its rank?

    “The Office of the Federal Attorney General in collaboration with the PSC must set up a special prosecution unit to handle grave matters of this nature involving the police and the people. Proper prosecution and commensurate conviction would certainly deter future occurrence. ”

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Joseph Nwobike, attributed incessant killing of civilians by policemen to a failure of professional value system within the police.

    “There is no evidence that those policemen who unlawfully kill others suffer psychiatric ailments. The solution requires integrated reordering of the value system amongst policemen. This will involve training and retraining of police officers and men on a continuous basis with a view to building a responsive policing culture,” Dr Nwobike said.

    Constitutional lawyer Mr Ike Ofuokwu said ‘trigger-happy’ policemen continue to pose a risk to the populace because the problem was not decisively dealt with by past police leadership.

    “Such policemen should be made to face trial speedily and maximum punishment imposed whenever they are found guilty, in addition to making them pay compensation to the victims or their dependants. The DPO’s or supervising officers should also be demoted or summarily dismissed.

    “In addition, subjecting all policemen at the point of recruitment to psychiatric test should be a condition precedent to engaging them. Periodically, all policemen and officers of the law generally that carry arms should be subjected to psychiatric evaluation. A fundamental overhaul of the Nigerian Police Force so as to align them with best global practice is long overdue. What we have today are mainly bandits in police uniform,” Ofuokwu said.

     

  • Wanted: Customary Court of Appeal for Lagos

    Wanted: Customary Court of Appeal for Lagos

    How to improve justice delivery at the grassroots was the thrust of the yearly retreat/workshop for customary court presidents and judges by the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission, reports ADEBISI ONANUGA 

    The need to protect our customs  came to the fore as stakeholders in the justice sector converged on Lagos to re-appraise procedures in the customary courts.

    The occasion was a retreat/workshop by the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission for Presidents and judges of customary courts, which had as theme, “The role of Customary Court Judges in the nation’s judicial system”.

    The participants counselled the  Commission to establish a Customary Court of Appeal to strengthen the system.

    Ondo State President, Customary Court of Appeal, Justice C.T. Adesola-Ikpatt, who delivered the lead paper titled: “Jurisdiction of Customary Courts in Lagos State”, stressed the need for the Commission to develop   customary court laws and preserve it for posterity.

    She advised the Lagos Judiciary to   establish the Customary Court of Appeal to provide access, in a familiar environment, for those dissatisfied with the decisions of the customary courts.

    Justice Adesola-Ikpatt noted that the indigenous system of adjudication of disputes, which the customary courts administer has remained relevant over the years in maintaining peace and social order among a vast majority of the people. She pointed out that those subject to the system, identified with and accepted it as regulating their relationship.

    “The colonialists saw the good in our indigenous laws and system of adjudication; they respected and preserved it. True, times are changing, but the wise must do the needful to protect their customs and ways of life as depicted by our indigenous laws and system of court”, she emphasised.

    Chief Magistrate Y. O. Aje-Afunwa, whose paper dwelt on “Ethics, decorum and comportment” counselled the presidents and judges of the customary courts to be above board. “Judges are expected to rise above common heads in society, not only in our moral and social perfection and behaviour but in our intellectual performance,” she said.

    Aje-Afunwa advised the customary court judges that they and their family members “shall neither ask for nor accept gifts, bequests, favours, or loans on account of anything done or omitted to be done in the discharge of their duties”.

    She urged them to shun nepotism and favouritism, disqualify themselves in a proceeding where their impartiality might reasonably be questioned and requlate their ex-parte judicial activities to minimise the risk of conflict with judicial duties.

    Aje-Afunwa, however, said: “Judicial officers shall be free to join associations of judges or other organisations to represent their interest to promote professional training and protect their judicial independence.”

    The Executive Secretary, Judicial Service Commission, Ayodele Odugbesan,  appealed to the Attorney-General to ensure that the proposed amendments to the Customary Courts Law 2011 are effected as soon as possible.

    “We believe that the amendments will be beneficial to us and spur local government authorities to meet their obligations especially since they requested that these courts be established in their communities,” she said.

    Lagos Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, who delivered the keynote address, promised to review the Customary Court Law 2011 to increase the jurisdiction of the courts in criminal matters.

    Kazeem, who was represented by the Solicitor-General, Funmi Odunlami, gave an indication that the Lagos House of Assembly was reviewing the law.

    He told them that for now, they would have to continue to dispense justice under the  Customary Courts Law  2011, which earlier increased the jurisdiction of the customary courts in respect of administration of estates of persons who died interstate to N500,000, while the jurisdiction of the courts was limited only to contempt of court committed in the face of the court in criminal aspect.

    The Chief Judge of the State, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, who was represented by Justice Taofikat Oyekan-Abdulai, said the state has been a pacesetter in the administration of justice and urged them to always uphold the truth.

    Justice Atilade advised that the tradition of the people in their locality should guide them when dispensing justice, adding that they should not apply common law in all cases.

     

  • Wanted: Customary Court of Appeal for Lagos

    Wanted: Customary Court of Appeal for Lagos

    How to improve justice delivery at the grassroots was the thrust of the yearly retreat/workshop for customary court presidents and judges by the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission, reports ADEBISI ONANUGA 

    The need to protect our customs  came to the fore as stakeholders in the justice sector converged on Lagos to re-appraise procedures in the customary courts.

    The occasion was a retreat/workshop by the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission for Presidents and judges of customary courts, which had as theme, “The role of Customary Court Judges in the nation’s judicial system”.

    The participants counselled the  Commission to establish a Customary Court of Appeal to strengthen the system.

    Ondo State President, Customary Court of Appeal, Justice C.T. Adesola-Ikpatt, who delivered the lead paper titled: “Jurisdiction of Customary Courts in Lagos State”, stressed the need for the Commission to develop   customary court laws and preserve it for posterity.

    She advised the Lagos Judiciary to   establish the Customary Court of Appeal to provide access, in a familiar environment, for those dissatisfied with the decisions of the customary courts.

    Justice Adesola-Ikpatt noted that the indigenous system of adjudication of disputes, which the customary courts administer has remained relevant over the years in maintaining peace and social order among a vast majority of the people. She pointed out that those subject to the system, identified with and accepted it as regulating their relationship.

    “The colonialists saw the good in our indigenous laws and system of adjudication; they respected and preserved it. True, times are changing, but the wise must do the needful to protect their customs and ways of life as depicted by our indigenous laws and system of court”, she emphasised.

    Chief Magistrate Y. O. Aje-Afunwa, whose paper dwelt on “Ethics, decorum and comportment” counselled the presidents and judges of the customary courts to be above board. “Judges are expected to rise above common heads in society, not only in our moral and social perfection and behaviour but in our intellectual performance,” she said.

    Aje-Afunwa advised the customary court judges that they and their family members “shall neither ask for nor accept gifts, bequests, favours, or loans on account of anything done or omitted to be done in the discharge of their duties”.

    She urged them to shun nepotism and favouritism, disqualify themselves in a proceeding where their impartiality might reasonably be questioned and requlate their ex-parte judicial activities to minimise the risk of conflict with judicial duties.

    Aje-Afunwa, however, said: “Judicial officers shall be free to join associations of judges or other organisations to represent their interest to promote professional training and protect their judicial independence.”

    The Executive Secretary, Judicial Service Commission, Ayodele Odugbesan,  appealed to the Attorney-General to ensure that the proposed amendments to the Customary Courts Law 2011 are effected as soon as possible.

    “We believe that the amendments will be beneficial to us and spur local government authorities to meet their obligations especially since they requested that these courts be established in their communities,” she said.

    Lagos Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, who delivered the keynote address, promised to review the Customary Court Law 2011 to increase the jurisdiction of the courts in criminal matters.

    Kazeem, who was represented by the Solicitor-General, Funmi Odunlami, gave an indication that the Lagos House of Assembly was reviewing the law.

    He told them that for now, they would have to continue to dispense justice under the  Customary Courts Law  2011, which earlier increased the jurisdiction of the customary courts in respect of administration of estates of persons who died interstate to N500,000, while the jurisdiction of the courts was limited only to contempt of court committed in the face of the court in criminal aspect.

    The Chief Judge of the State, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, who was represented by Justice Taofikat Oyekan-Abdulai, said the state has been a pacesetter in the administration of justice and urged them to always uphold the truth.

    Justice Atilade advised that the tradition of the people in their locality should guide them when dispensing justice, adding that they should not apply common law in all cases.

     

  • Wanted: Investments in agric infrastructure

    Wanted: Investments in agric infrastructure

    A consultant to the World Bank, Prof Abel Ogunwale, has advised the government to invest in infrastructure and value-added production.

    Ogunwale, a lecturer in Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, noted that growth in agriculture would require an increase in infrastructural  investments.

    He said farmers expected state governments and organisations to help boost production, noting that the sector would be attractive to investors because of favourable political and legal environment, and freehold ownership, among others.

    While some investors are well-established in commodities markets, Ogunwale noted that poor infrastructure and volatility were scaring others away.

    He said investors focus on agriculture’s assets and explore opportunities in areas, such as land, grain elevators and food processing plants.

    He observed that Nigeria is lagging in agric infrastructure, citing irrigation system and other facilities which need renovation and investment.

    Ogunwale bemoaned the sector’s low capacity, urging the government to open up the industry for investments.

    He urged the government to support commercial aquaculture, breeding, monitoring and warning systems and epidemic surveillance systems.

    He implored the government to encourage free trade to unlock its agriculture capability by implementing reforms, deregulation nd easing rules for investors.

    He said improving the environment for agriculture would bring  benefits, and contribute to stronger economic growth.

    According to him, improved barge, rail and port facilities could boost food production, adding that improving infrastructure will attract capital into the agribusiness sectors.

  • Wanted: Human rights-compliant laws

    Wanted: Human rights-compliant laws

    The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has inaugurated a four-man committee to examine and collate, national and state laws that conflict with human rights norms. Lawyers hail the move. Eric Ikhilae reports.

    DESPITE being democracy, Nigeria is still battling to overcome its lawless past.

    While state officials profess adherence to democracy and the supremacy of law, the reverse is, sometimes, the case in the exercise of state and institutional powers, with security agents major culprits.

    Instances abound where such officials and security agents act in ways that betray their disrespect for the rule of law.

    There have been cases in recent times where public officials and security agents/agencies disregard legal provisions or prefer to apply archaic laws or ones that offend globally- accepted human rights standards.

    Court orders and judgments are still flouted with impunity and it even appears, sometimes, that some judges look the other way when state officials or members of the elite are clearly in contempt of court.

    The police and other security agencies still violate citizens’ rights in the face of clear provisions in the Constitution and other instruments protecting human rights.

    Also, security agencies tend to ignore judicial pronouncements voiding legal provisions that offend human rights.

    Today, the police charge people with the offence of sedition for criticising public officials/institutions. This is in spite of the subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal, delivered in 1983 in the case of Arthur Nwankwo v. the State (1985 6 NCLR 228, where the court declared illegal and unconstitutional, the use of state’s machineries to harass whistle blowers and critics of public officers and private citizens.

    There are existing cases where the police become ready tool for the intimidation of ordinary people in what ought to be a simple civil matter. An example is the current case involving a journalist, charged by the police before the Federal High Court, Lagos for allegedly defaming the Managing Director of the United Bank for Africa.

    Also, on June 1, 2009, in the case of Amadi Iyalla v. Director General, Nigeria Immigration Service (an unreported judgment by Justice Gladys Olotu), the Federal High Court declared unlawful the policy of the Immigration Service requiring married women to always accompany their application for passports with  letters of  consent from their husbands.

    Earlier this year, the Federal High Court, in the case of Women Empowerment and Legal Aid v. Attorney General of the Federation (2015) 1 NHLR 39 abrogated Regulation 124 made pursuant to the Police Act, which prohibits a female police personnel from getting married for three years and where she is fit to marry, must obtain the consent of the Commissioner of Police in charge of where she serves.

    Although most of these decisions are not known to have been appealed against, the affected agencies have failed to comply with terms of the judgments. They have also not taken steps to correct these inadequate legal provisions.

    It is against this background that the initiative by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), acting under its powers as provided in Section 5(k) & (o) of the NHRC Act 1995 (as amended) to constitute a group of experts to examine existing legislations with the aim of harmonisng them with provisions of extant human rights instruments, is commendable.

    Inaugurating the four-man group in Abuja last Wednesday, NHRC’ s Executive Secretary Professor Bem Angwe said the initiative, though novel, is intended to overhaul the nation’s legal architecture  in the direction of human rights compliance.

    He noted that his commission had, before now, been confronted with the challenges of conflict of laws (where some federal and state laws conflict with human rights standards) in the areas of promotion and protection of human rights standards as contained in the Constitution, the International Bill of Rights – the United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other specialised international  and regional human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a party.

    The group, Committee of human rights experts is to examine federal and state legislations to ascertain their consistency with human rights standards, has as members: Dr. Castro Ginigem (Chairman), Professor Alphonsus Alubo, Professor Ayo Atsenuwa and Abdulwahab Oyedokun (Secretary). The committee has four months, from the day of inauguration, to deliver on its mandate.

    Basically, the committee is to:

    • examine existing legislations –both at federal and state levels – in the light of human rights provisions contained in the country’s constitution, international and regional human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a party.
    • identify and collate federal and state laws in conflict with human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a party.
    • make recommendation to the commission (NHRC) for facilitation of amendment of such laws which are in conflict with human rights standards.
    • undertake any other functions incidental to the attainment of the above.

    Angwe argued that “one of the best means to ensure effective promotion of human rights is to align our laws with human rights standards as expressed in national and international instruments. This is important in this country with, arguably, one of the most complex plural legal systems in the world.

    “As a complementary measure, the commission, both at the headquarters and through its state offices, will scale up its monitoring of bills and administrative provisions pending before the various legislative houses, with a view to ascertaining their compliance with human rights standards.”

    Today, there are two generations of rights recognised globally. First are those classified as the fundamental human rights, captured in Chapter IV of the Constitution as well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples” Rights (ACHPR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDNR).

    They include the rights to life; dignity of human person; personal liberty; fair hearing; private and family life; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; freedom of expression and the press; peaceful assembly and association; freedom of movement; freedom from discrimination; freedom to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in the country.

    There are the second generation rights set out in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which Nigeria signed in 1993. Some of these rights include the right to work and enjoy favourable conditions of work; the right to social security, including social insurance; the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the right to education; and the right to take part in cultural life.

    This generation of rights is only mentioned in Chapter Two of the Constitution, with the title: “Fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy”. But, despite the complementary provisions of Section 16 of the Constitution, particularly Section 16 (1)(b), which provides that the state shall “control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity,” Section 6(6)(c) makes such rights non- justiciable.

    Section 6 (1) states: “The judicial powers of the Federation shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established for the Federation. Section 6(6) provides that “The judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section.”

    Sub-section 6(c) states that the judicial powers granted the courts in Section 6(1) “shall not, except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, extend to any issue or question as to whether any act of omission by any authority or person or as to whether any law or any judicial decision is in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Chapter II of this Constitution.”

    Aside this, the committee may well take note of a piece of legislation that has existed in the nation’s statute books for about 100 years, having been enacted on September 21, 1916.  It is the Public Officers Protection (POP) Act.  It is a product of the Public Authorities Protection Act of 1893, which applied to Nigeria as a statute of general application until the enactment of the POP in 1916.

    The law offends the right of any Nigerian to, at any time, query public officers/institutions in the exercise of their powers.Besides, the law is too old, it protects public officers/institution against any legal action expect after three months when the cause of action arose.

    Although it has two sections, the most poignant is Section 2(a).

    Section 2 provides that: Where any action, prosecution or other proceedings is commenced against any person for any act done in pursuance or intended execution of any Act or law or of any public duty or authority, or in respect of any alleged neglect or default in the execution of such Act, aw, duty or authority, the following shall have effect.

    The “following referred to is contained in subsection 2(a), and it states: “the action, prosecution or proceedings shall not lie or be instituted unless it is commenced within three months next after the act, neglect or default complained of, or in case of a continuance of damage or injury, within three months next after the ceasing thereof.”

    There is also the controversial Force Order 237 on the use of force by the police. It has been blamed for frequent cases of right abuses by police personnel.

    Those who hide under the inadequacies inherent in the provision have argued that there is a policy vacuum in respect of how and when firearms may be deployed and the circumstances governing the use of force by men of the Nigeria Police Force.

    Although Oyedokun assured that the committee will do a thorough job and ensure that its recommendations are adopted by the various legislative houses, with a view to adopting them as laws, lawyers, including Femi Falana (SAN), Sadiq Olusola and Chigozie Chuwkuma have suggested ways of ensuring a successful outing by the committee.

    Oyedokun told The Nation that his committee has devised ways of avoiding past incidents where efforts deployed to law reviews are wasted because such reviewed legislations are not adopted or reenacted as amended laws by the legislative houses.

    “We are fully aware of the cognisance of the provisions of Section 4(1-9) of the Constitution, which vests the legislative powers of the federation and the states on the National Assembly and states’ Houses of Assembly.

    “In view of this, we are only required to make proposals and recommendations, which may come in the form of Executive or private member Bills. The approach to be adopted will be determined by the committee at the end of the day.

    “Incidentally, we have a very robust relationship with the National Assembly. As we go along, we intend to extend that relationship to the states’ Houses of Assembly, while also strengthening relationship. We will also involve the media, the civil society organisations and the populace.

    “Most issues relating to rights abuses in the country are those affecting the ordinary people. For example issues of torture, forced disappearance, violation of women, rape, among others are issues in respect of which, I think, no legislative house will delay when called upon to enact or amend laws.

    “As we go along, we will involve all other relevant institutions of government. Although I don’t think representatives of the legislature should be part of our committee, we will carry along critical segments of law making bodies in our duties, knowing that our recommendations would end up with them,” Oyedokun said.

    Falana, in his presentation during the committee’s inauguration, drew its members’ attention to the various radical provisions in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 in relation to the basic rights of suspects.

    “It is clear that all the fundamental rights guaranteed by Chapter IV of the Constitution are civil and political in nature. To that extent, they are of no relevance to the majority of our economically disadvantaged people.

    “As I have repeatedly maintained, unless the fundamental objectives enshrined in Chapter Two of the Constitution and the socio-economic rights guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act are actualised, fundamental rights will remain the exclusive preserve of the bourgeoisie.

    “The committee should therefore recommend measures that will lead to the enforcement of all the welfare laws which have been enacted by the National Assembly and various Houses of Assembly pursuant to Chapter Two of the Constitution.

    “It is my fervent belief that we cannot amend laws to comply with international human rights instruments and standards without addressing the actualisation of the social, economic and cultural objectives set out in Chapter Two of the Constitution,” Falana said.

    Olusola praised the HNRC for the initiative, but expressed pessimism in the committee’s ability to engender the needed change in the nation’s human rights regime.

    “Must as I appreciate the effort of those behind this initiative, I am concerned about the actual realisation of their objectives. This is a lawless society, where the rich and privileged trample on the law without any negative consequence.

    “Members of the elite class in this country see themselves as being above the law. Cases abound where people have been detained for months or years by the security agencies solely on the instruction of a privileged individual.

    “We hope they will be able to achieve anything meaningful. But they must start by recommending that the provisions of Chapter two of the Constitution becomes justiciable,” Olusola said.

    Chukwuma equally applauded the NHRC for the initiative, but argued that it will be impossible for the country to operate on the same wavelength with the international community on issues of human rights where the country still battles with institutional inadequacies.

    “There is the need to re-orientate law enforcement agents and judicial officers to be sensitive to the rights of the people irrespective of their status. It is easy for courts today to grant bail to the rich, but deny bail to the poor even where the offence of the former is more severe.

    “I doubt if we can make any headway in this regard because,  the ideal of free human beings, enjoying freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights,” Chukwuma said.

     

     

  • Wanted: Modernised airports

    Wanted: Modernised airports

    The ranking of three Nigerian airports among the worst in Africa by a Canadian group, A Guide to Sleeping in Airports, has rekindled the debate on the need to privatise or concession airports, Kelvin Osa Okunbor reports

    There is growing discontent  over public ownership and management of airports.

    This is fuelling agitations  for the government to consider options for making the airports more functional and effective.

    According to experts,  privatising or concessioning the airports would lead to better running and make the  imports comparable with others  worldwide.

    They say  either of the two models has brought about efficient airport management in United Kingdom, France, Indonesia, Germany, Russia and Spain.

    In separate interviews, Chief Executive Officer, Belujane Konzults,  Mr Chris Aligbe; President, Aviation Roundtable, Mr Gbenga Olowo; former Director of Operations, Nigeria Airways Limited, Captain Dele Ore and former Assistant Secretary, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Alhaji Mohammed Tukur;  a pilot and consultant, Captain Daniel Omale and an aviation security expert, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd),  said privatising the airports would make them more efficient and functional.

    In its 2015 survey, A Guide to Sleeping in Airports, a Canadian organisation, rated Port Harcourt, Abuja and Lagos airports as the first, seventh and 10th worst in Africa.

    To address these lapses, some experts have called for management companies to improve the efficiency and profitability of the 22 airports managed bythe Federal Government.

    In particular, Aligbe and Ojikutu said airport management companies had become imperative to address the inefficient running of the facilities.

    To analysts, airports owned and managed by the government were too humongous to be handled by the government.

    According to Aligbe, pairing some airports for effective management by the proposed companies will ensure better services and development of some terminals described as unviable.

    The airport authority, he said, is saddled with too many tasks that it may not be able to focus on providing the required services and run the terminals profitably at the same time.

    The management companies, he said, will focus on enhanced non-aeronautical sources of revenue for the airports while the Federal Airports Authority (FAAN) will focus on operational and technical areas.

    Aligbe said: “There is an urgent need to fix the entire airports in Nigeria to make them viable. This is one of the ways to better run the airports if the facilities are in top gear.

    “The next major problem is the way the airports are run. We need the right model on how to run the airports.

    “ The central management system cannot bring about efficiency in  airport management.

    “Airports are not run that way, if we need to have good airports in this country, we must concession them. It must be done in a way that government will take concession revenues and royalties from where it will reorganise the system.

    “Government should consider setting up a holding company to oversee her interest in the concessioned airport and to ensure the implementation of the terms of the concessions. This will involve terms. There are various strategies to airport concession. The airports need to be paired for income generation and development.”

    Other experts have proposed various models for airport ownership and management, saying that a quasi-monopoly is the way to go to make the terminals functional. They said the private sector privatisation model embraced by many developed countries had brought about efficient airports.

    They cited the model adopted in the United Kingdom, France , Spain, Germany and Russia.

    But, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Hajia Binta Bello and the Managing Director of FAAN, Saleh Dunoma, disagreed with the experts.

    To Hajia Bello, privatisation was not the solution because many airports in the country are not viable.

    Currently, only the  Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal (MMA2 ) Ikeja, Lagos and the Osubi Airport in Delta State are managed by private sector players.

    Other terminals numbering about seven are managed by Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Delta, Gombe, Katsina, Jigawa and Kebbi states.

    However, aviation experts have proposed two radical solutions, especially for airports with a minimum annual traffic of five million passengers.

    In the view of Omale: “The first is full privatisation, while the second is leasing (concession).

    “The Conservative government in Britain adopted the first model successfully in 1987. It privatised the British Airports Authority, raking in $2.3 billion from the sale. In 2009, Heathrow and Stansted generated a combined revenue of $4.27 billion.

    “The other workable model, which the government could consider, is partial privatisation or leasing. Examples  include the Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France; and Frankfurt, Germany.

    “While the airport in France generated $3.66 billion in 2009, the one in Germany receipted $2.74 billion. The Madrid Airport, Spain, which is in the process of privatisation, raked in $4.16 billion the same year,” he said.

    According to him, the government should seriously consider the privatisation option for airports because the huge funds sunk into airport remodeling in the last few years has not paid off.

    He said: “ It is time for a new reality on how Nigeria’s airports should be improved and managed. It is a big shame that many airport terminal buildings are still dilapidated; all of them require renovation to completion stage.

    “Many airports have been abandoned for the past years, and the contractors have left sites for reasons ranging from lack of payment. These factors have always contributed to the core reason government cannot manage businesses.

    “Whatever the case, it’s time for government to hands off investment in our airports. Privatisation is the absolute way forward.  All over the world, buying airports has become something of investment fad,” Omale added.

    Among the 22 airports managed by FAAN, the most efficient still remains the MM2, which is run by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services (BASL).

    Investigations revealed that BASL has spent close to N1 billion in the past three years on facility upgrade at MMA2. These include electronic gates, self-check-in kiosks and automatic baggage reconciliation system  and passenger tracking system .

    The terminal has uninterrupted power to facilitate seamless operations at its 45 check-in counters equipped with common user systems and baggage handling facilities.

    To Tukur privatising the airports would make them more consumer friendly as is the practice in other parts of the world.

    He said: “About privatisation of specific airports; it is done in advanced countries and that is how it ought to be, to enhance efficiency in the system. Those opposing privatisation do not mean well for the sector.

    “We are not saying the government should sell the entire airports, but facilities like the run-ways, terminal buildings and other maintenance services can be managed by private investors. For example, we have Bi-Courtney aviation services in place and those facilities can go to the Bi-Courtney. In fact, we need more Bi-Courtney aviation services for local, international and other places.

    “Take London airport for instance, private investors are those running some of the facilities there. Government provide those facilities for private investors to manage them prudently, and that is exactly what we need in this country,” Tukur said.

    For him, the duty of the government is to supervise and provide security not getting involved in the day-to-day management of airports. Government, he argued, should only retain a percentage of the business. Private investors should run the facilities to make more revenue, rather than leaving everything to collapse in the hands of government officials to the detriment of the economy, he said.

    An example of how privatisation can benefit the country is the N63.5 billion spent on the second runway under construction at the Abuja airport.

    “If our airports had been privately managed, the Federal Government would have been able to save this fund and deploy it to other critical social needs,” Tukur said.

    In May, a former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, endorsed public-private partnership in the development and management of critical infrastructure including airports.

    He said: ”I doubt if there is still anyone uncertain of the fact that Public- Private Partnership (PPP) in the development and management of critical infrastructure is the most effective way to build a sustainable economy.

    “We contracted a polling company to question passengers and the result we got from them is that most of our airports are under performing.

    “They ranked most of our airports below average. I think only MMA2 (domestic terminal, Lagos Airport) came out with a 3.2 score out of 5; and we believe that only two airports among those they surveyed scored up to 2.7 and 2.6. The rest were below 2.5. This is a customer perception index to find out what the customers think,” he said.

    What, perhaps, is most instructive in all of this is that MMA2 is the only privately-run airport in the country and its pre-eminence in the industry is hinged on its distinct features with  state-of-the-art facilities, including a terminal building, a multi-storey car park, hotel, conference centre, and an apron, Chidoka said.

    He added:“This is, indeed, one more step in the aviation industry to make the airport customer-friendly. What MMA2 has done today is to show that what passengers and other airport users see in Dubai, Paris, UK and U.S can be eminently replicated here in Nigeria.”

    The Senate ad-hoc Committee on Aviation was told last week that most of the facilities and equipment at the airports were obsolete having been acquired over 30 years ago, hence, the poor rating of airports due to paucity of funds to replace them.

    Hajia Bello said budgetary provisions alone was not enough to transform the airports.

  • Wanted: laws to regulate social media

    Wanted: laws to regulate social media

    Bauchi State Governor Mohammed A. Abubakar is the Chairman of Arewa Lawyers Forum (ALF) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).  He was in Vienna, Austria for the just concluded International Bar Association (IBA) Conference where he spoke to select journalists, including Legal Editor JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU. 

    Bar leaders at the African Regional Forum of the International Bar Association (IBA) conference in Vienna, Austria, called on African lawyers to upgrade their skills to enable them compete favourably in a globalised world. What is your view about this?

    Well, there are international best practices in all facets of life, particularly in the legal profession. All we need to do is to adopt them and abide by these international best practices, that is the best thing to do and the way forward.  Just like the Nigerian Bar Association has started some years ago, the issue of continuing legal education, I believe that is the way forward. There is a need for us to be abreast of developments in in law all over the world, that is the only way we can be international  players in the legal profession.

    The IBA as an organisation is known for quality programmes and sessions  in all their conferences. Which  of these sessions was more interested to you?

    You know that when individual lawyers join the IBA, they have the opportunity of belonging to different sections and  the  sections you belong to are determined by your interest. The areas of  your practice. Primarily, I have been attending public interest sessions. For instance, yesterday  m,orning we attended the session on judicial corruption. This is a problem that is endemic in most developing countries and it behoves any lawyer who is attending the conference from these jurisdictions to be abreast with what is happening internationally in that respect. Other sessions that interested me include the session on international commercial arbitration because that is the trend all over the world now. In the legal profession now, we tilt more to Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR)  because of its manifest and obvious advantages over litigation. I have interest in arbitration particularly. I am an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK and of course a member of the Nigerian branch and for that reason, I pay special attention to these areas  whenever I come to this kind of conferences.

    What do you think Nigerian delegates can take home from  this conference in terms of the organisation,  resource persons , materials and delivery?

    Well, if you  heard the Secretary of the IBA on the opening ceremony, he said that there were well over 6,000 lawyers  attending  the conference . That is a very huge number for somebody to manage. And if you notice at the very beginning when you go to register  you will notice that things have been well arranged, particularly  if  you registered for the conference  on time and they had  sent you the  voucher for fast track, the moment you use that voucher, you will not spend  more than two minutes at the counter  and you will collect all the conference materials.  This is what gives us trouble  back at home. We have to find a way of arranging our launches that are offered at our conference venues. These are areas  that give us  problems at home, we are always in  a hurry but we can still improve on these and take things easy when issues like that are involved but we can still improve on that and do better in this respect.

    As a lawyer and a Bar leader, how do you think your knowledge of the law and experiences from  international conferences like this will impact the justice delivery  in your state?

    I have a general belief not only in the justice sector, I have this  belief that the major players in the government of a State, the  players I expect to come on board in Bauchi State,  the Attorney-General, the Commissioners and Advisers. What I intend to do is to make it possible in a legal manner for this people to own decent accommodation and decent  means of transportation while they are in office. After doing that then I will challenge them, they  must deliver and they cannot touch public money. I believe that we can extend this to the judiciary. These are  usually  some  of the traps we fall into in public service in Nigeria, when one looks at when one will retire and then you retire without a decent accommodation, then you retire without a good car, so if we take it as a government policy to make sure that high ranking public officers are taken care of in this respect, then I think we can reduce this incidence of corruption in high public offices.

    How do you intend to achieve this in Bauchi State?

    I have a choice piece  of real property in Bauchi State. We had an old airport in the GRA, a new airport has been built, so recently the Federal Ministry of Aviation released this choice real property to me. And  what I intend to do is to develop  a new modern neighbourhood  at that place. I have already started discussing with entrepreneurs who are interested in investing, I told that that I will purchase some of the houses they will build in that place and I intend to use it for this purpose. If you are a commissioner in Bauchi State, we will make it possible for you to own one house there so that we can deducting  the money from your salary so that by the time you finish your tenure, you will have a decent house in the State. The same thing with transportation, so this is my plan.

    You have been in charge as the governor of Bauchi State for almost six months now. Wwhat has the experience been like?

    I must confess that the experience has been very very challenging though I knew before I ventured into the project that it is not going to  be a tea party.  Because everybody knows the situation in Nigeria, Nigeria is a country that depends so much on oil, as a means of its revenue and we are all aware the oil price has been dwindling in international market. Therefore the Federal Government of Nigeria gets little revenue from that and by implication, the States and Local Government Areas too get very little revenue. And most of the States over the years  have been depending on the revenue from the federation accounts to run the States, only   few States in Nigeria generate enough internal revenue to run their states without the Federation account, this is a big challenge for  us. For some of us, even if you want to, there is a limit to which you can increase your internally generated revenue

    It is the turn of Arewa to give produce the next  NBA President. What steps are you taking?

    Well, let me assure the legal community that the Arewa Lawyers Forum has already started meeting plans. On  October 31,  I  am going to call  a meeting of Arewa Lawyers Forum in Bauchi. At that meeting we intend to call on all sons  and daughters of that association who have aspirations for any office n the Nigerian Bar Association ( NBA ) to write us   formally and tell us. This will enable us to determine whether we have a multiplicity of aspirants in any particular office or not. Where we do, we will then sit down and look at the amicable ways of settling that issue so that we do not go through the unnecessary bickering of tearing ourselves apart through elections with more than one candidate vying for one particular office. I am assuring you that e will do this and we will do it successfully.

    What are your plans for justice sector reforms?

    Well, we have in fact at the Northern Governor Forum kick started  the issue of Judicial reforms.  There was a meeting of the Attorneys General f the Northern States in Boronu, to now kik start this process, we took the decision at the last  meeting of the Northern Governors Forum. What we are envisaging is that these groups of experts, our  law officers will now sit down and fashion for us the parameters for this justice sector reforms in the north. You know that we have a uniform  criminal code in the northern States, the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code before the newly enacted Administration of Criminal Justice Act. So, there is need for whatever reform you intend to embark upon to commence from those  documents. You will be surprised see  that some of those documents still contain provisions that were borrowed from India and Pakistan in the 50s,  they are still prevalent in those books and there is a need for us the sit down and critically look at them with a view reviewing them to meet the challenges of  modern Northern Nigeria.

    Now that some States in the federation are yet to constitute their cabinets, who attends the meetings of the body of Attorney’s –General for them?

    Yes, some states like  Bauchi do not have Attorney’s–General  in place now, but the solicitors General are there to fill in the gap. Though we have zeroed in on someone who will be the Attorney-General in Bauchi State. He is a very senior lawyer who has been in practice for long, from the 80s to date.

    Generally Nigeria is going through a period of development, I am particularly concerned about the advent of the social media in the country. Before  the operations of the social media gets out of hand, there is a need for some form of regulation in that sector. Journalists who run online publications, I do not know who regulates them because they jettison all the ethics of Journalism profession in their practice. Somebody somewhere will get up one morning because  they don’t like your face, they fabricate one whatever unfounded story about you, publish  and propagate same through the online media without making any attempt to verify such stories. They have done this to me and  I am considering a law suit against one or two of them involved in this in the country were their domain name is domiciled. It is indeed a very serious problem. For instance, a small boy will look for something unreasonable in government and if you don’t give him, the next thing he will tell you is that he will go to the social media and slander you. He will tell you this to your face and he will do it and the moment this enters this domain, it will be propagated all over  the world so something has to be done about this.

     

  • Wanted: People’s Attorney-General

    Wanted: People’s Attorney-General

    Who becomes the next Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation? Whoever gets the job should be prepared to hit the ground running, say lawyers. Eric Ikhilae writes

    Will the next Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation be different from his predecessors? Will he wage the war against corruption without fear or favour? How will the legal profession fare under him?

    These are some of the questions being asked by watchers as the nation waits for President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The Senate last week cleared 18 of his nominees, setting the stage for their swearing in anytime from now. More nominees may be screened and cleared this week.

    In the past, some Attorney-Generals looked the other way as laws were broken. Arbitrariness was the order of the day. Public officials and institutions equated themselves with the state. Court judgments and orders were obeyed selectively; prosecution of corrupt state officials was haphazard. At times the trial of those close to the seat of power was discontinued while politically connected convicts were pardoned.

    Impunity reached an embarrassing height under the last administration when a former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) withdrew the security aides of immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives and refused to recognise him as such because he had defected to another party.

    Even while the issue was in court former police chief, Suleiman Abba insisted that based on his interpretation of the constitution, the Speaker could no longer be so recognised, having defected to another party.

    The then Attorney-General and Minister of Justice saw nothing wrong in the conduct of the IGP and offered no contrary opinion on the issue.

    Many are expecting a departure from the confusion of the immediate past when this government, which came to power on the strength of its promise to effect change, appoints its chief law officer.

    This is because of the power a Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) wields, given that the society is founded on law and order.

    Section 150 (1) of the Constitution states: “There shall be an Attorney-General of the Federation, who shall be the Chief Law Officer of the Federation and a Minister of the Government of the Federation.”

    The Constitution specifies the skill to be possessed by an AGF in Section 150(2): “A person shall not be qualified to hold or perform the functions of the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation unless he is qualified to practise as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for not less than 10 years.”

    The Attorney-General, by virtue of Section 174 (1) of the Constitution, acts as the adviser to the Federal Government on legal issues, coordinates the activities of the prosecuting agencies, among others.

    Section 174 (1) states: “The Attorney-General of the Federation shall have power –

    (a) to institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court of law in Nigeria, other than a court-martial, in respect of any offence created by or under any Act of the National Assembly;

    (b) to take over and continue any such criminal proceedings that may have been instituted by any other authority or person; and

    (c) to discontinue at any stage before judgment is delivered any such criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by him or any other authority or person.”

    Sub-section 2 of Section 174 allows the AGF to delegate its responsibilities by providing that: “The powers conferred upon the Attorney-General of the Federation under subsection (1) of this section may be exercised by him in person or through officers of his department. “

    Unfortunately, these powers of the AGF are sometimes exercised in breach of sub-section 3 of Section 174 of the Constitution.

    The section is as follows: “ In exercising his powers under this section, the Attorney-General of the Federation shall have regard to the public interest, the interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of legal process.”

    Under the immediate past administration, some cases against public office holders and major corporate organisations were discontinued with the AGF exercising his power to enter nolle prosequi with little consideration for the public interest.

    During ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, statutory allocations to local governments in Lagos State were illegally withheld despite the Supreme Court’s order for their release. The then AGF defended the illegal and unconstitutional action.

    Also under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the AGF argued that the Commander-in-Chief could rule from wherever he was, even when the president had been away for months without formally informing the National Assembly, as required by the constitution. This omission prevented the Vice President from acting in his place, while the president sought medical assistance abroad.

    Observers have reasoned that in view of the present government’s pledge to break from this unenviable past, it should ensure the emergence of an AGF, who will recognise the importance of his office.

    Such an AGF would deploy his constitutionally ascribed powers to creating a society founded on law and order, where citizens’ rights are safeguarded within an arrangement that guarantees social justice and the rule of law as against the rule of man.

    They argue that the new AGF should tackle, among others, the embarrassing delay in criminal justice administration, prevail on the Executive to ensure proper funding for the Judiciary, and ensure the effective coordination of the activities of the various investigating and prosecuting agencies if the government will be successful in its anti-corruption efforts.

    Adegboruwa
    Adegboruwa

    The new AGF should be able to eliminate the current discriminatory application of the prosecutory powers of the state. Today, it is the practice that cases involving indigent defendants, without the financial power to manipulate the trial process, are promptly decided, with the convict handed hefty jail terms, while those with money are able to either scuttle the trial or agree to a plea-bargain arrangement with the state.

    Nwobike
    Nwobike

    Lawyers including Joseph Nwobike (SAN); Sebastine Hon (SAN); Mahmud Magaji (SAN); Abuja-based Abubakar Sani and rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, have recommended that whoever emerges as the new AGF, must hit the ground running in view of the current state of the nation’s affairs.

    They suggested areas where he must direct his/her energy, include enhancing the capacity of the judiciary to function effectively, improved training for investigators and prosecutors, among others.

    Nwobike said the new AGF  should concentrate on building the capacity of prosecutors and investigators.

    This, he added, is because the major obstacles to successful prosecution of cases, particularly those relating to economic

    Sebastine Hon
    Sebastine Hon

    crimes, include poor investigation and inadequate prosecution.

    Hon advised the in-coming AGF to watch his steps and realise that he/she is serving in a government that has zero tolerance for corruption. He also urged the new AGF to avoid the mistakes of his/her predecessors.

    “The person should also realise that the international community is now interested in how the justice ministry operates. The new AGF should not let us down by engaging in any act of corruption or stay aloof when acts of corruption are being perpetrated.

    “I expect the new Attorney-General to also initiate legislations that will improve on the state of the nation’s criminal justice system, including tampering with some provisions of the constitution. I fully subscribe to the call for the establishment of special courts to try corruption cases because of the attendant unwarranted delays being experienced in regular courts.

    “Such a specialised court will also aid specialisation among judges. Those with general knowledge of law will become specialists in this area of law if assigned to the specialised court.  They will be able to handle most delay tactics by lawyers.

    “I also expect a greater coordination in the activities of the investigating agencies. Currently, there is no synergy between the police and other investigating agencies. The in-coming AGF has the responsibility of ensuring that the activities of these agencies are centrally coordinated to allow for efficiency,” Hon said.

    Magaji advised the new AGF to be concerned about how to ensure the effectiveness of the criminal justice system to ensure that criminal cases are heard and decided on time.  He said all efforts should be made to reduce the delay currently associated with criminal trials.

    “The issue of bail should be automatic so that cases are not delayed. As soon as somebody is arraigned, he should be granted bail so that he can prepare for trial. This will eliminate the time that is wasted on arguing bail applications.

    “He/she should also ensure strict application of the newly introduced Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), which is directed at eliminating delay in the criminal trial process,” Magaji said.

    Sani urged the in-coming AGF to work to eliminate contradictions in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) Act, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act  and the Code of Conduct provisions of the constitution in relation to the fundamental rights provision of the constitution.

    “Specifically, with regard to the Code of Conduct provision, anybody convicted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) could also be subjected to criminal trial in the regular court. This negates the constitutional provision against discrimination. This provisions amounts to discriminating against public officers.

    “So, this provision in the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, which allows further criminal trial for a public officer convicted by the CCT on the same issue, subjects such public officer to double jeopardy, which is generally unacceptable.

    “The provisions in the EFCC Act, the ICPC Act and the NDLEA Act, which empowers the agencies to prosecute anyone that refuses to respond to their queries/questions, negates the right of an accused person to remain silent. Even during trial in a criminal court, an accused cannot be compelled to testify. You have a right to remain silent,” Sani said

    Adegboruwa noted that the major task for the new AGF is to tackle the intolerable delay in the administration of criminal justice.

    He said: “The long year spent on prosecuting cases from the High Court to the Supreme Court is an embarrassment to this nation.”

    Adegboruwa added that another major task is for the AGF to prevail on the Executive to ensure that the Judiciary is well funded.

    “Funding is critical to ensuring an efficient Judiciary. The needed change in the Judiciary cannot be realised through the enactment of legislations alone. There is need for more judges, introduction of technologies to court operations, and continuous training for judges and court employees on new ways of doing things.

    “It is totally unacceptable for cases to be adjourned because of lack of electricity. It is unacceptable for you to have up to 50 cases in a court’s list for a day. This is because the number of judges is inadequate.

    “The new AGF should also look at ways of harmonising the various existing civil procedures applicable in all the states. This will make practice easier. He/she should also work to harmonise the activities of all the investigating and prosecuting agencies if he/she wishes to ensure an efficient criminal justice system,” Adegboruwa said.

     

  • Wanted: Enactment of a Housing Act

    Wanted: Enactment of a Housing Act

    The deficit in housing requirement is  growing at an alarming rate. It stands at  5.8 per cent per year, with its attendant effects on major cities, such as Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt. This has given rise to slum population estimated at about 70 per cent. While some experts and stakeholders insist on an enactment of a “Housing Act” to solve the problem, others say funding is the solution. However, the middle point is that the vicious cycle may just continue unabated if drastic measures are not taken, write MUYIWA LUCAS and JANE CHIJIOKE

    It was not an unusual gathering, considering that it held in the precints of a citadel of learning. It was the inaugural lecture of Prof. Timothy Nubi, a lecturer in the Housing and Urban Regeneration Department of the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

    The theme: “Beyond bricks and mortar” naturally, would elicit interest, especially considering the 17 million estimated deficit being experienced in housing. And when the figures were reeled out, not many agreed less on the urgency of the state of housing in the country.

    “In Nigeria, the slum population is put at 70 per cent with a higher annual growth rate of 4.55 per cent. The widespread development of slums in our towns and cities is a physical manifestation of poverty in its entire ramification. As stagnant water is to mosquitoes, so are slums to criminal activities. Our lack of understanding in this regard has led to government frustration and wrong policy shift to private sector driven provision for basic social needs even when people cannot pay for these services,” began Nubi.

    According to him, in developing countries, the emphasis on private ownership of houses has reduced the importance of government participation even as needs escalate and private sector participation yielding lesser impact than expected. This situation has made access to adequate and affordable housing remain a huge challenge to both dwellers in urban and rural areas.

    Now, to tackle this malaise, the University don said there is a need for the creation of a workable mortgage system to tackle the difficulty of housing provision in the country. This plan, he said, should engage the public sector as against the current system that has left housing in the hands of the private sectors. Besides, government, he explained, should make consistent housing policies based on elements drawn from the developed countries, whose policies have produced massive, positive outcomes, since the early 1930s when such countries have put in place effective mortgage plans.

    “About 60 per cent of the present population of over 167 million lack adequate housing in Nigeria. Current housing deficit is about 16million units. Housing inadequacy is felt more by the less privileged groups (low income earners, the displaced, youth, elderly, physically challenged), even the middle class have started to feel the pain of the acute housing shortage. The current deficiency, in addition to projected demography trends, points to the need for several million housing units to be built across the country in the coming years,” he said.

    Nubi, who reiterated that it is a necessity for government to ensure that every Nigerian is sheltered, believed that a Housing Act should also be passed to make this mandatory. According to him, when this is done, it then becomes compulsory for government to be alive to this responsibility.

    The Act, he canvassed, should specify the age at which a Nigerian can get his own house and the quality of housing. “We have a building code, which should be an important part of the Act; the building code has not become law, but it should be made an important component of the Act,” he canvassed.

    Similarly, the Principal Partner, Kola Akomolede & Co., a firm of estate surveying and valuation, Chief Kola Akomolede, agreed that if enacted, the Housing Act would strengthen the housing sector. This, he argued, is because any government that fails to obey the Act can now be prosecuted.

    This position may be right given that the provisions of the National Housing Fund (NHF), has been flouted many times simply because it is not an Act. The NHF policy, which makes provision for the local and state governments to contribute a certain amount into the housing fund scheme and make workers pay a certain percentage of their salaries into the fund, has not been very effective since it was not passed as an Act like that of taxation.

    “The housing policy is very robust and is so large for every government to execute; if the housing policies and the building code are put together and we are able to back them as a law, when there is violation, it will be addressed in court. And the court will force the government to implement the law; it is a stage in any national development. There must be a law before it can be enforced,” he explained.

    But a former Federal Controller, Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Olayinka Onaeko, saw it differently. He insisted that the country needed more funding than laws to bridge the housing gap.

    “As far as I am concerned, we don’t have problems of laws or statutory problems. The problem with housing is funding and not relevant laws; we have more than enough laws, Acts and policies in the housing sector that are relative to housing provision,” he argued, insisting that the Land Use Act and National Building Code, among others, were all statutory laws for housing.

    Putting another law in place, he argued, is tantamont to duplication, which may not necessarily improve the number of housing units or reduce the deficit in the sector. The major problem for the sector, according to him, is funding, which he said can be resolved by repositioning the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and other primary mortgage institutions (PMI).

    In planning laws, construction standards, housing finance vehicles, availability of legal, fiscal and physical infrastructure among others, the professor opined that the private sector is heavily dependent on the existence of a public sector for efficient operations, as privatisation might not work if housing funds are left in the hands of profit driven private sectors.

    “The crucial question seems to be ‘can the private sector operate in all housing submarkets?’ Does policy transfer recognise that private sector participation is taken for granted in some submarkets and carefully avoided in others? Is it recognised that policy transfer in housing sub markets fails where the policy allots market function to actors that are neither suitable nor willing to operate in that sub market?”he asked.

    Nubi, while proffering solution to the seeming increase in shortfall in housing, argued that a mass housing provision should be made available. He contended that such step would account for a significant portion of annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as it is capable of triggering the creation of micro and small scale businesses in such low income neighborhoods. He added that the desire for home ownership motivates savings, investment and means for generating extra income from rentals.

    Already, the private sector has since begun to key into the provision of mass housing. For instance, a frontline manufacturer of polyurethane prefabricated buildings in Nigeria, Vitapur Nigeria Limited, is seeking partnership with the Federal and state governments to bridge the country’s estimated 17 million units of housing deficit in the country, by constructing mass houses at low cost and high speed.

    “With the enabling environment in place, we are ready to assist in reducing building shortfall in Nigeria. Such an enabling environment will include available policy on land, housing, finance, affordable building materials, appropriate institutional framework and sustainable construction workforce. Government should create a platform for long and short term fund for real estate and establish infrastructure development bank,” Vitapur’s Acting Managing Director, Mr. Akin Oladiran, assured.

    Also a private firm, B. A. M. Projects & Properties has promised to build and deliver 500 assorted affordable housing units in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This is part of the Federal Government’s sustained efforts at bridging the huge housing gap in the country. The project located at BELHAM Estate in Karsana District near Gwarimpa Housing Estate, is being developed on a 45-hectare of land. The units are: two-bedroom apartments, three-bedroom town houses, three-bedroom luxurious apartments,  four-bedroom detached bungalows and five-bedroom villas.

    Similarly, some states in the country are leaving no stone unturned. For instance, the Ogun State government has unveiled its housing plan that would enable residents, irrespective of their state of origin, to own personal home seamlessly within a short time.

    The Managing Director, Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC), the business arm of the state government, Babajide Odusolu, said the scheme is targetted at “career persons in paid employment.”

    The scheme, christened “OPIC Advantage Home Purchase Plan” will make housing not only affordable, but make subscribers move into the home of their choice upon payment of initial 30 per cent of the total cost of the house. This is a “quasi – rent – own house” arrangement where subscriber would be required to pay monthly, quarterly or yearly rent while living inside, but with a mandate to liquidate the full cost of the house in three years. OPIC, in its 25 years of existence, has built 100 housing units.

    Also, to make home ownership less problematic, the mortgage system is becoming more robust. And to make the process easier, especially for people in the informal sector, or those not captured under the National Housing Fund (NHF), the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), through its social and co-operative housing programme, is opening up more windows of opportunities for the people.

  • Wanted: Millennium Goals for prisons

    Wanted: Millennium Goals for prisons

    Mr. Benson Iwuagwu is the Executive Director of Prison Fellowship Nigeria, a group involved in the welfare, restoration and rehabilitation of prisoners. Called to Bar in 2002, he underwent pupilage at Falana and Falana Chambers in Lagos. Iwuagwu tells Legal Editor JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU how to improve the condition of inmates, among other issues.

    What is Prison  Ministry all about?

     

    Prison Ministry is the gamut of compassionate psycho-social  support and assistance extended to  a person  in incarceration; expressed in multidimensional and multidisciplinary programmes and projects that help   resolve the  spiritual, mental, emotional and physiological dilemma, deprivations and trauma of the prison inmates, victims, their relationships and community. Overall, prison ministry aims for the reformation, rehabilitation, reintegration  and restoration of all those involved in and affected by crime and its aftermath.

    How do you appraise the impact or effect of Prison Ministry in the country?

    The impact of Prison Ministry is enormous. Prison Fellowship Nigeria comprises of hundreds of churches and ministries, has its inaugurated chapters  in 26 states in Nigeria, conducting  daily  prison visitations  in aid of tens of thousands of men, women, boys and girls, including children held in our  prisons. In a forced isolation such as imprisonment, nothing is more precious than a visit from the outside, more so, by total strangers who come in the name of love. In the words of a ranking Prison Officer, “without you people coming around and doing what you are doing to support us in taking care of the inmates, I do not know what this place will look like”. That our prisons are congested, is a notorious fact. So also, is the fact that, the Nigerian Prison Service is  under funded. The over 50,000 men and women, including children held in our prisons  have needs, ranging from food to toiletries, clothing, education, medical, material and legal. Most have been abandoned by outraged relatives and forsaken by a sanctimonious society, it is Prison Ministry practitioners that intermediate; to give the inmates a sense of self worth through sharing with them the message of God’s love through Jesus Christ, compassionate visits, family liaison,  provisions and counsel. Whilst the government and society maybe content that the offender has been confined, the more serious question is, “What happens after incarceration?” Prison ministry helps to repair the harm caused by the crime of the convicted person in prison, beginning with relatives and victims of the crime, to make return of the convict after sentence, a possibility.

     

    How can government, individuals and organisations key into this  vision and project?.

     

    Effective prison ministry is all encompassing, with room for everyone who is minded to lend a hand.

    The government is the bedrock of our collective social relationships; it must be mindful of the fact that, prisoners come from and will return to the society after their prison term. So, custodial conditions must be  both humane and complementary to reformation. Discriminatory laws must be abrogated, the present situation where one is statutorily excluded from employment by reason of having been in prison, is most unfair, inhuman and counter  productive. It’s akin to “biting the nose to spite the face”.  It consigns the poor ex-prisoner to a life sentence of stigmatisation and ostracisation  from  meaningful socio-economic life, while fueling recidivism  to our collective hurt.

    How do you think the government  would key into this mission?

     

    Governments  should proactively extend all ongoing  Millennium Development Goal projects, in health, education, socio-economic empowerment et al, to the prisons. Cognisant of the fact that imprisonment does not take away the constitutional rights of prisoners, beyond what the law prescribes in sanction. For individuals and organisations, empathy is key. The present social attitudes of discrimination and stigmatisation must be discouraged. That done, it becomes easier to reach out to either give your talent or treasure in support of  credible prison ministry organisations, like Prison Fellowship Nigeria that have proven and ongoing intervention programmes in the prisons across Nigeria, to  assist in the reformation, rehabilitation and re-integration of prisoners, victims (primary and secondary victims, particularly children, who neglected become street children and then miscreants). Corporate organisations should make specific provisions  in their CSR budgets to sponsor offender, victim intervention programmes in and outside the prisons.

     

    Which aspects of our laws do you think we need to amend to meet the challenges of criminal justice administration in the country?

     

    With all due respect, I think the fundamental philosophy of our criminal justice system is largely flawed. It is, in my humble opinion, yet premised on the medieval principle of “the Kings Peace”.  What is our definition of crime? Who are the parties in a criminal charge? It is axiomatic that, justice is not just about  “out comes” but very importantly, about  the process. This fact is underscored by the fact that, once there is a failure in compliance with critical rules of procedure, the subsequent outcome has often been held to be a nullity.

    The Criminal Justice Administration Act, 2015 is very significant, particularly with respect to regulating, arrest, accused statement, charge and detention,  non custodial sentencing options et al.  The fact, however remains: “ Once the premise of an argument is wrong, the conclusion will be irremediably unsupportable”

    Until we begin to see crime as  “ a violation of individual rights and relationships, resulting in harms and hurts”, we may not arrive at the kind of justice envisaged under the social contract.  We  should go from “retribution and deterrence” to, “reparation and restoration”, otherwise,  our prisons will remain congested with neither society, offender or victim satisfied that,  justice has been served. The nebulous concept of state in criminal justice must be modified to reflect the “Proper Parties” to include the victims  of crime; and the aim of justice, cannot only be punishment and just desert but “ healing the hurts and harms caused by crime, in ways that meet the needs of the offender, healing the harms done  the victim and restoration of  social harmony”. Restorative justice and not Retributive justice, is the way to achieve a better sense of justice for every offender,victim and society.

     

    What is the “Onesimus Project” all about, what are the benefits and how do we keep it going?

     

    “Life Recovery Pre-release Empowerment Programme” a.k.a “ The Onesimus Project”, is a partnership programme  between  Prison Fellowship Nigeria, Covenant University, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria and the Nigerian Prison Service; which  aims to break the vicious circle of recidivism, through pre and post release  mentoring of  inmates  who have six months to the end of their prison term. The curriculum of the programme  includes  spiritual care giving, sharing the message of God’s love through Jesus Christ, equipping them with business, entrepreneurial and  vocational  skills. The programme further deals with personality and psycho dysfunction challenges that predispose to crime and criminality. Each  partner – Covenant University, SMEDAN, PF Nigeria  deals  with its area of specialty within the programme curriculum.  Each inmate admitted is assigned a mentor  for a period of 18 months – six months pre release and 12months post rerelease; the mentor plays the role of friend and family liaison, counselor and guide. Upon release, in appropriate cases, they are provided temporary accommodation, assisted to  plan and decide what to do and given  venture seed money. The Onesimus Project has enormous psycho-social impact on the inmates that have gone through it, with full compliments of matriculation and graduation. Recidivism rate among the project graduates is about 20 percent , against the general average of about 68 percent.  We are however, a long way from our programme ideals, largely because our post release component is lacking in resources for effective follow-up, venture startup seed money and personal development  of the programme graduates.

    We solicit first, for attitudinal change from members of the public towards returning ex-prison inmates.  A  welcoming environment for the returning ex-prison inmates is critical;  then  support in cash or kind.  Individuals and organisations  can  volunteer to provide support for  post release housing, skill and vocational training, apprenticeship  venture  seed money.

     

    People are calling for the strengthening of the anti-corruption agencies through legislations to give them more bite, what is your reaction to this?

     

    The problem is not with the laws but with the men!   What values do we hold dear as a people? Again, who do the politicians represent, how fair and equitable do they deal?   Looting of the public is a reaction to suspicion of the viability of the Nigerian project and doubt in the fidelity of the other parties –  insurgency in North East, Niger Delta and the Biafran jingles.  Visit our prisons, how many “rich men, women or their loyalists” do you find there? The rich is getting richer, the poor getting poorer, the system is simply oppressive on many sides. How will the laws work?  Give me a sense of belonging, participation and ownership premised on commonly shared values, then my allegiance is sure. National institutions, including the anti-corruption agencies, are  built on common values and fidelity, unperturbed by  the manipulative colouration  of tribe and religion, most often deployed by  our politicians and technocrats.  When there is suspicion and doubt in a relationship, cheating and evasive conduct becomes the norm. We have more than enough laws to deal with corruption, if we deal with the reasons for suspicion and lack of fidelity in the Nigerian project.

     

    What are the challenges of the ministry and, how can its vision be integrated into the administration of Criminal Justice in the country?

     

    We have enormous man and material challenges. Prison Ministry is involved with lives of tens of thousands of  men, women and children. It rubs off on family cohesion,  safety, security, our  productive capacity  and social civilisation as a nation. It requires empathy, patience and commitment. We do not have enough volunteers, a lot of people  are interested in going to preach in prisons or just casual giving but often not ready for the long haul, which is what is required in prison ministry. Specialist volunteers, logistics support, infrastructure and committed funding remains daunting.  We are  addressing  this, in part, through developing programmes that are  partnership friendly, reaching out to corporate organisations to allocate part of their CSR budgets to support  prison-related programmes and projects.

     

    What is your mission in relation to criminal Justice reform on  criminal justice reform?

     

    Part of our mission is to offer counsel and support, in the development of a criminal justice system that is holistic and restorative in its outcomes, cognisant and respectful of the needs and rights  of the offender, victims and society; in pursuit of this justice ideal, Prison Fellowship globally advocates the Restorative Criminal Justice System. Here in Nigeria, it is  taken, that  Lagos State is the leading light in many respects; its court system is  evolving to meet the justice needs of the people. You have the Citizens Mediation Centre, Office of Public Defender and the Multi-Door court system; to complete the loop, Prison Fellowship Nigeria has signed a five year Memorandum of Understanding  with Lagos  State Ministry of Justice, to do a Restorative Justice Pilot Project, which foundations have been well laid by the state in the administration of criminal justice law, 2011.

    We hope, upon a successful pilot to advocate for its nation wide application through appropriate Legislation at the National Assembly.